Media Day 2013: Notable Quotables

“We have a talented group of young guys and you mix them in with the St. Louis’, the Stamkos’ and Purcell’s and I think we have potential to be a talented, hardworking team. We have to mold that into a team that can win hockey games. There’s some exciting young players, that will have varying degrees of impact on our team this year.” – GM Steve Yzerman on what excites him about this season’s squad

“The reality is some guys have played in the American Hockey League for a couple of years and really excelled, it’s time for them to move into the NHL. It’s not like we’re going to throw a bunch of young guys into the lineup regardless of how they do or not. We’ve got a lot of players and at the end of camp I’m hoping we’re in a position where we have too many players and we’re going to have to figure out what to do with our roster, that’s the hope.” – GM Steve Yzerman on the amount of young versus veteran talent

“I was really fortunate to come to this organization with a lot of veteran guys, which made it easier for me to feel comfortable and play my game. When you’re a high draft pick, there’s a lot of expectations, a lot of pressure and I think you put the most pressure on yourself to perform. Marty was a guy that I looked up to and hopefully Jonathan [Drouin], Marty’s still around, still going strong, so he’s got him too, but I’d like to throw myself in there as a guy that he can count on if he has any questions or concerns.” – Center Steven Stamkos on being a role model from Jonathan Drouin

“If someone’s going to come in, it doesn’t matter what age they are. If they can make your team better that’s what we need right now, we need to be better. Whether the kid is young or old, if they can make our team better, that’s the most important thing.” – Winger Martin St. Louis on the influx of young talent.

“The reason he [Ryan Malone] came to Tampa Bay and has the contract he has was because he was a force in Pittsburgh...When he’s been healthy he’s got that rare breed of size, strength, talent and when he’s rolling he’s great to see. It’s also an Olympic year, agree or disagree he didn’t get invited to the 47- man camp, I’m sure he’s got a little chip on his shoulder because of that. I think their loss is going to be our gain.” – Head coach Jon Cooper on what forward Ryan Malone brings to the team